The opening session of Scotland’s foremost renewables and decarbonisation conference was disrupted on Wednesday by a trio of protestors voicing opposition to the oil and gas sector.
Scottish net zero secretary Mairi McAllan, BP UK chair Louise Kingham, and a video message from UK energy secretary Claire Coutinho were all interrupted by three activists at All Energy in Glasgow.
Protestors were raising their voice against the Scottish Government “cosying-up” to oil and gas and BP’s involvement in the session, while another highlighted deaths from fuel poverty as Coutinho’s video message was on.
At least two were seen to be escorted out by security following the disruption.
Dame Susan Rice, chairing the session highlighted the need for conferences like All-Energy in taking action to address the issues, rather than “finger pointing” as was the case in the early years of the conference.
The first protestor condemned the “ditching” of Scotland’s climate targets after the removal of its 2030 goals last month, and called upon Mairi McAllan to condemn the approval of the Rosebank oilfield in the West of Shetland.
Ms McAllan used her speech to highlight achievements in recent weeks including investment in the port of Ardersier, a green hydrogen facility being announced for Grangemouth and the Scottish Ports Offshore Wind Alliance announced today.
It comes as Scotland waits for the final wording of the Scottish Government’s energy strategy, due out in the summer, and whether the “presumption against” North Sea exploration will remain in place following the breakdown of the Bute House agreement with the Scottish Greens.
Next, a protestor interrupted a video address from Clair Coutinho at the conference, noting fuel poverty deaths across the country as the video message addressed developments in offshore wind and pumped storage in the Scottish highlands.
Lastly, BP’s Louise Kingham was disrupted when a protestor said BP should be “ashamed” of taking part.
Ms Kingham, who spent time at the Energy Institute before joining BP, noted that she has spent time “wagging her finger” at the industry on its targets, but that has to come from a place of “truth” – noting some of the points being made by the activist were factually inaccurate.
Ms Kingham went on to highlight that projects on the net zero journey have to make returns and be investible for their owners, while highlighting that the UK is the first major economy to halve its carbon emissions.
“That’s quite incredible In a relatively short space of time. If you think the first energy system took 150 years to build, the pace is there but we can do more.”